The Voice Of Reason

I was walking up a short block downtown today, from the back end of the Delta Barrington where i'd gone to get a coffee up to the entrance on the corner of Duke and Barrington, into the little shopping area where i was going to get my hair done. I spotted this inside a doorway.

There were and probably still are little short films that were aired on Canadian television that reenacted little bits of history. There was one about a family trying to escape wild brushfires, one about an immigrant couple that were building a cabin made out of sods on the Prairies. Then there was the one that the phrase in the above photo will bring back to most of us. In actual fact, the phrase didn't actually use the word "peach" but everyone knows what it means. Every Canadian, that is, and i was amused to see it graffitied on a door frame/wall.

It refers to the invention of basketball by a Canadian who, according to legend, used peach baskets for the ball to be aimed at. But because the baskets had bottoms, it took some time to climb up and fish the ball out of it so he came up with the idea of cutting the bottom out of the baskets. The caretaker of the property grumbled "I need these baskets back!" Through the cut is the Youtube of the original vignette.
( Baskets! )

Here's something in the newspaper this morning that was interesting. The Lieutenant Governor's residence/mansion has been undergoing a major renovation over the last couple of years and apparently they found shoes inside some of the walls. Turns out it's an old custom to ward off evil spirits so during the nearly-completed work, the builders did it again. Seems the custom in medieval times was to put a body under the foundations but as you can imagine, that didn't work out very well. Since shoes take on the shape of someone's feet, it was felt that the person's spirit was strong in a shoe so that was used instead. They found at least 8 shoes around the huge stone mansion, originally built in the early 1800s. History of the building here with a quicktime movie gallery here.  I know Nova Scotia has the oldest legislature building in Canada, which was opened about the same time the LG mansion was finished.  Anyway, to keep up the tradition, they've garnered some used shoes from some of the Provincial government staff, including a shoe from current LG Mayan Francis.

Was it very wrong of me to have a grilled cheese sandwich on cheese bread for breakfast this morning? Nah, didn't think so. It was yummy.

I've been immersed in the Halifax Explosion today, converting a tape to digital containing documentaries and a two part fictionalized mini series called The Shattered City. Not all of it was based on truth, of course, such as the German sabotage conspiracy and a few other over-dramatic exaggerations and plot devices that they yonked into it for the storytelling but the basics are true. Two ships, one containing explosives, collide in the harbour. Munitions ship catches fire and blows sky high. Pretty good special effects in the mini series and it's fun to see which real locations they used for filming. I rather think they used the waterfront area of a town like Lunenburg for the waterfront of Halifax, because it's still got wooden buildings and warehouses. (looked it up. Yep. they used Lunenburg) They incorporated some of the true stories such as the baby found in an ashcan. She was nicknamed Ashcan Annie and she grew to the advanced age of 90. Funny, too, while googling to find out about her, it turns out comedienne Joan Rivers blogged about it (third post down) after she was here a year and a bit ago. She toured around the city and found out a lot about the history and wrote about it! That's quite interesting! I think the documentaries are both quite good, one called Legacy and one called City in Ruins. I might even put them on a dvd for gramie_dee's dad for Christmas. I think he'd enjoy it.

Nice and mild out today, a bit rainy which is ok, to get rid of some of the snow, make room for more! I went out to get a few groceries and am going to make Singapore Noodles later on.

Pretty much everything is booked for the trip now, i booked the rental car the other day so there's only two train journeys to worry about. The one between Amsterdam and Brussels i think we'll just get when we get to Amsterdam. I've got an alert set up so i'll know when the tickets for London to Manchester are released (thanks zoo_music_girl). We'll be in London from Friday eveing, May 8 and on Saturday all day as well. I do hope it works out that we can see some of you!

I hope this isn't setting the pace for the rest of the day. I took my glasses off to clean them and one of the lenses popped out! I don't think i'm missing a screw but i do think the glue probably just gave way. I guess that's probably the push i need to get myself into the opticians and schedule to get my eyes tested. I'm way overdue and i do know that there's changes. I think i'll definitely not get bifocals (and i don't care if you call them whatevertheheckthey'recalled lenses, the ones without the "line" across like traditional bifocals. They're still bifocals in function if not in form). I am pretty sure i need that sort of help but i plan to get them as a separate pair of reading glasses. I don't think it will be that much of a nuisance because i only need the extra boost for small print and things like newsprint or reading in some lighting circumstances. I need glasses most of the time mainly because of my astigmatism. I don't have them on now and the words on the screen are fuzzy but i can make them out. If i had my regular prescription, the words would be just fine, sharp and clear. I suppose i could wear them and just look through one eye but i think that would give me a headache after awhile. Optician opens at 9 so i only have about an hour to wait. I'll get them to check the other lens too. (oh.. managed to pop the lense back in but i'm going to have it checked anyway)

I have a massage at noon today to work out the knots in my neck and i'm having my bushy eyebrows seen to after work, then it's off to the grocery store to pick up a few things.

I did very little yesterday, a few chores and watched quite a few videos that i'd downloaded. There's a new series that started on CTV last night called Mad Men. I hear it's also been on BBC and it has been on in the US on a cable station. It takes place in 1960 in a Madison Avenue ad agency. Everyone smokes. All the time. Everywhere. Office. Restaurant. Post-shag in bed. It seems so odd to see now. Women in the office are treated like skirts. Men in the office are rampant cheaters, sometimes with the women in the office who are all secretaries and switchboard operators. The reproduction of the look and feel of 1960 is very good. It's a soapy kind of show, of course, so it won't appeal to everyone. I downloaded the first couple of eps and i liked it well enough but i don't think i'll download the rest. I'll just try to remember to tape it when it's on and watch it there.

So i watched some of that, i watched the season finale of Season 2 of the Tudors. Queen Anne dies. But you all know that. I have to say, that series, in spite of it being an awful lot of toss when it comes to historical accuracy, and the fact that they've horribly miscast Henry, has had some good performances. Natalie Dormer as Anne really was ver good, Maria Doyle Kennedy as Queen Katherine was excellent and you just can't argue with Sam Neil in any part let alone Cardinal Wolsey. It's basically a shag fest with beautiful people and i was horrified at the first few episodes but it's like a train wreck and a trashy novel all rolled into one.

what else did i watch... oh another episode of Monarchy with David Starkey, just to keep on the historical track. Oliver Cromwell died too. Actually i saw a death mask of him in Warwick Castle a few years ago. That actually was creepier than the room full of weapons it was in. If it's accurate, my God he had a big head. He must have been a large man.

Which brings me to Doctor Who.
( spoilers, and a lot of questions raised )

It wasn't quite the shopping trip i had planned but i still enjoyed myself. My friend couldn't make it for our planned shopping excursion so i rang up mom and asked "do you want to go to Chapters?" ... stupid question. She picked me up and we hit the shelves. I had 80 dollars worth of gift cards and spent almost that much again but i did get a birthday present for Mom while i was picking up things including a couple of half price calendars and a date book for work. Got two new Diana Gabaldon hardbacks, both about her secondary character Lord John Grey, and another large book called "Sun Kings: A history of magnificent kingship". It's about the lives of a number of great rulers of history and puts their lives and acheivements in the context of the time and place where they lived. Not hugely in depth of course because you could do that in a book all of it's on, one on each of them. Some of the people included are Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Catherine the Great, Napoelon, Alexander the Great, Louis VIX of course, Cosimo de Medici, Augustus Caesar, Ramses II, and quite a few others. They look at kings, queens, emperors, popes, sultans and princes from ancient times to Victorian. Lots of pictures and illustrations. it's a bit "Reader's Digest" but it's a good overview.

We went into Future Shop as well and she got a portable dvd player that she's been wanting. Lots of toys and sales in there!

She took me home to drop my bags of books and then we went back to the mall so she could try to exchange something and i went off to find a purse. Still couldn't find what i wanted. I think i might have the luck i need at Kelly's luggage in Park Lane so i'll head up there at lunchtime or after work one day. I picked up some boxed cards, photo frames and photo albums for my trip photos and a few grocery items i needed. Had to get two more items at the corner store on the way home.

The Alzheimer's Society of NS is having a rubber duck race on September 22 at Bishop's Landing on the waterfront. There isn't a lot of detail on the website but i assume they're putting the ducks in the harbour. Unfortunately i have something else on in the afternoon at the same time the race is on or i'd go over and have a look.

Well, that gives "over the shoulder boulder holder" a whole new meaning doesn't it? this bra gets turned into this purse.

medusa's Paris pics make me want to go now!

Apparently the mother of the little girl that has gone missing in Portugal is now considered a suspect by the Portugese police. I'm only surprised it's taken this long but i doubt the parents were involved other than making the bad decision to leave the children alone in a hotel room.

I had to get a request for change number for something i'm doing at work and the number i was given was 1066. That always reminds me of Dad. It's the one date in history he never forgot from school. 1066BattleofHastings he'd rattle off! As a result, it's one i never forgot either even before i discovered that i really liked the history of England and the U.K. Dates don't always stick in my mind though a few year-dates do such as (not all of them related to England/Britain) 1746, 1815, 1547, 1588, 1215, 1789, 1776, 1867, 44BCE, 1603, 1533, 1536, 1917, just to name a few.

I've been history geeking a lot this weekend. I ordered a couple of dvd sets and got them in very quick time. The first is a two dvd set called Monarchy by David Starkey and the other focuses on the Six Wives of Henry VIII by the same bloke. I've seen a few of those on PBS but the Monarchy series is new to me. It's not complete, there's another set to complete the timeline out later in the fall. This one ends with the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. I really enjoyed the series. It was a brief overview but seemed quite accurate and had lots of points in it that i hadn't read or heard before. I love the history of England and the U.K., especially medieval to where the Georges took over and the Tudor period is my favourite. David Starkey is apparently well reknowned as a historian and researcher, from this point of view, he does seem to be quite good even if his accent is a bit odd. Very posh but with a Northern accent on some words. At least to my ears. Anyway, i've got through the Monarchy set, though i may go back and rewatch the one on the Wars of the Roses. I'll have to start in on t'other next.

In Canada, today is the 17th anniversary of the day a man entered a college in Montreal and killed 14 women. He specifically went after women and then killed himself. There are memorial services across the country to commemorate the loss. Today is also the 89th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion, where 2000 lives were lost because of an accident involving two ships that collided, causing the largest man made explosion before the nuclear age. I bet Halifax is the only place that commemorates that event. Two very different events from very different circumstances. I certainly don't belittle the events in Montreal. Women are the victims of a lot of violence in this world today, even in so-called civilized countries like Canada. Even though there are very few people left alive that remember the Explosion (Just about where this picture was taken), it still has an impact on this city, on the architecture, on what makes this city what it is. There are constant reminders for me even though i have no relatives that were killed or injured. My grandparents still lived in New Brunswick at the time but if they lived on the street where my father was born in the 1930's, their house would have been flattened. It's only a few hundred yards away from where the Fort Needham Explosion memorial is today.

There's a twisted ship's cannon mounted on a corner not far from where it was found, over a mile from the harbour. I pass it every day on the bus because it's just around the corner from where i live. There's a twisted enormous ship's anchor in front of a now-closed museum building closer to the harbour. The anchor was found 3 miles away from the harbour where it was thrown from the explosion. I pass that every day on the bus too. So today i remember a devastating event in Halifax's history. I remember how Halifax pulled itself back up from its knees and rebuilt homes, businesses and lives.

88 years ago at 8:55 a.m. local time, two ships collided in Halifax Harbour. One was filled with over a ton of explosives and blew up. It was the largest man made non-nuclear explosion before WWII. nearly 2000 people died and 10,000 injured. There is a memorial service starting just about now at the memorial on Fort Needham, a hill overlooking the spot where it happened. Lots of interesting information in these websites.

http://www.cbc.ca/halifaxexplosion/
http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/AtoZ/HalExpl.html
http://www.halifaxexplosion.org/index.shtml including transcripts from survivors.